Trevor Noah Slams NRA’s Silence on Philando Castile Verdict

On Tuesday’s The Daily Show, Trevor Noah struck a solemn note as he sharply criticized the National Rifle Association’s silence on the verdict that acquitted the officer who shot and killed Philando Castile. Castile had announced to the officer that he had licensed firearm. He was reaching in his pocket — for his ID, according to his girlfriend, who was driving — when he was shot.

Noah said, referring to the many black men who have been killed by police on camera, “This story is interesting because there is something different, and that is Philando Castile wasn’t just a man shot at a traffic stop; he was a legal gun owner whose family was in the car and who had committed no crime at all.”

Noah went on to say, “This is one group you would expect to be losing their goddamn minds about this: the NRA.”

The Washington Post reported on June 18 that the NRA had not commented on the verdict. Officer Jeronimo Yanez was acquitted on all the charges he faced.

Noah ended his segment by saying, “It’s interesting how the people who define themselves by one fundamental American right — the right to bear arms — show that once race is involved, the only right that they believe in is their right to remain silent.”